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More than the midpoint of the season, Brentford are in a dream scenario.

Following victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last season.

Solely table-toppers the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There is a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the battle for continental football.

Few was predicting this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to replace the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the off-season arrivals.

A year of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the top five.

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

But they also were aware they had a £30 million striker already waiting to go.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then-record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He has been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are fantastic. He must be so proud. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point shows the standard he is playing at.

And it is not just the quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so vital for Brentford.

His opener against the Black Cats was his 7th opener of the season. Given how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

He finds the target. Do that consistently and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the hardships he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.

The concern was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss one candidate was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at the club, it looks as if they were spot on.

The new boss won just a single of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have followed.

Wins that, following their excellent recent run, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," Andrews added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep striving."

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

But, for now, The Bees are defying the odds. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those aspirations of the continent will become.